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The STATES of America
People of America

New Jersey-3rd of original 13

Dec. 18, 1787

 
Italian Giovanni da Verrazano, in 1524, was the first European to explore the area we know today as New Jersey. One of the original 13 states (it joined the Union in 1787), it was named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel. New Jersey is referred to as the "Garden State" because of its fertile farmland. General George Washington won a key Revolutionary War battle at Trenton when he crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania and surprised the Hessian soldiers stationed there. Trenton is the state capital, and the flower is the purple violet. Atlantic City, a resort town and home to the Miss America pageant, attracts visitors from around the world.

 

New Jersy Facts and Trivia

 

New Jersey has the highest population density in the U.S. An average 1,030 people per sq. mi., which is 13 times the national average.

 

New Jersey has the highest percent urban population in the U.S. with about 90% of the people living in an urban area.

 

In November of 1914, the New York Tribune, cooperating with Mr. Bertram Chapman Mayo (founder of Beachwood) issued an "Extra" announcing: "Subscribe to the New York Tribune and secure a lot at Beautiful Beachwood. Act at once, secure your lot in this Summer Paradise now!" This was the greatest premium offered by a newspaper - nothing equal to it was ever attempted in the United States.

 

New Jersey is the only state where all its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.

 

North Jersey is the car theft capital of the world, with more cars stolen in Newark then any other city. Even the 2 largest cities, NYC and LA put together.

 

New Jersey has the most dense system of highways and railroads in the U.S.

 

Picturesque Cape May holds the distinction of being the oldest seashore resort in the United States and one of the most unique.

 

New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the diner capital of the world.

 

North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world with seven major shopping malls in a 25 sq. mile radius.

 

Passaic river was the site to the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland.

 

New Jersey has over 50 resort cities and towns, some of the nations most famous, Asbury park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside heights, Cape May.

 

New Jersey is a leading industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation.

 

New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the U.S. located in Elizabeth.

 

The light bulb, phonograph (record player), motion picture projector were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park laboratory.

 

Atlantic City is where the street names came from for the game monopoly

 

Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world.

 

New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.

 

The first Indian reservation was in New Jersey.

 

New Jersey has the tallest water tower in the world.

 

The first baseball game was played in Hoboken.

 

The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick, in 1869. Rutgers College played Princeton. Rutgers won.

 

The first Drive-In Movie theatre was opened in Camden.

 

New Jersey has 108 toxic waste dumps. Which is the most in any one state in the nation.

 

New Jersey has a spoon museum featuring over 5,400 spoons from every state and almost every country.

 

Tourism is the second-largest industry in New Jersey.

 
Pennsylvania-2nd of original 13

Dec. 12, 1787

 
Although Swedes and Dutch were the first European settlers, William Penn, a Quaker, named Pennsylvania in honor of his father by combining the name Penn and the Latin term sylvania, which translates as "woodlands," to come up with "Penn's woodlands." Known as the "Keystone State," Pennsylvania is one of the original 13 colonies (it entered the Union in 1787). Today, two major cities dominate the state--Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and a thriving metropolitan area, and Pittsburgh, a busy inland river port. The Amish, a group of people who live without the use of modern technology, live in the countryside of Pennsylvania. The capital is Harrisburg and the state bird is the ruffed grouse.
 

Pennsylvania Facts and Trivia

 

Drake Well Museum in Titusville is on the site where Edwin L. Drake drilled the world's first oil well in 1859 and launched the modern petroleum industry.
 

The longest stone arch bridge in the world is The Rockville Bridge in Harrisburg.

 

Hershey is considered the Chocolate Capital of the United States.
 

The first daily newspaper was published in Philadelphia on Sept. 21, 1784.

 

In Philadelphia in 1775 Johann Behrent built the first piano in America calling it under the name "Piano Forte."
 

Philadelphia is the site of the first presidential mansion.

 

KDKA radio in Pittsburgh produced the first commercial radio broadcast.
 

Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia Zoo, the first public zoo in the United States.

 

Fairmount Park in Philadelphia is the largest city park with over 8,000 acres.

 

Punxsutawney citizens are proud to be over shadowed by their town's most famous resident the world-renowned weather forecasting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil. Punxsutawney is billed as the weather capital of the world.

 
In 1909 the first baseball stadium was built in Pittsburgh.
 

In 1913 the first automobile service station opened in Pittsburgh.

 

In 1946 Philadelphia became home to the first computer.

 
Dr. George Holtzapple successfully created the first application of oxygen, thus saving his patient's life and winning international fame through his discovery. The year was 1885.
 

Betsy Ross made the first American flag in Philadelphia.

 

Philadelphia is home to the cheesesteak sandwich, water ice, soft pretzels, and TastyKakes.
 

The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia in 1776.

 

Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell.
 

Philadelphia was once the United States capital city.

 

Pittsburgh is famous for manufacturing steel. Its professional football team is named the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 
Delaware-1st of original 13

Dec. 7, 1787

 
With the state motto of "Liberty and Independence," it's no surprise that Delaware was the first of the original 13 states of the Union; it's often called the "First" or "Diamond State." The state's name comes from the original governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr. William Penn acquired the land that makes up Delaware to keep his Pennsylvania colony from being landlocked. Today, Delaware is one of the most industrialized states, known for its chemical research. Dover is the capital; the state flower is the peach blossom.

 

Delaware Facts and Trivia

 

Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, six miles northwest of Wilmington features one of the world's finest naturalistic gardens.

 

The nation's first scheduled steam railroad began in New Castle in 1831.

 
Eleven years after the landing of the English pilgrims the first white settlement was made on Delaware soil.
 

Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States constitution. It did so on December 7, 1787.
 
Delaware is the only state without any National Park System units such as national parks, seashores, historic sites, battlefields, memorials, and monuments.
 

Today about 500 descendants of the original Nanticoke Indians reside in Delaware. They celebrate their heritage each September with the Nanticoke Indian Pow Wow.
 

The log cabin originated in Finland. Finnish settlers arrived in Delaware in the mid-1600s and brought with them plans for the log cabin, one of the enduring symbols of the American pioneer. One of the cabins has been preserved and is on display at the Delaware Agricultural Museum in Dover.

 

Fisher's popcorn is a famous coastal caramel corn. It has been ordered from as far away as Vietnam and Indonesia.
 
The most historic site in Frederica is Barratt's Chapel east of town. The chapel is where the first Methodist Church of America was organized in 1784.
 

In 1785 Oliver Evans of Newport invented the automatic flour-milling machinery that revolutionized the industry.
 
Delmar is popularized as the little town too big for one state. The community has the distinction of being located partly in Delaware and partly in Maryland.
 
Tradition holds the first time Betsy Ross's famous flag was flown was at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge. This historic site is located on route 4 in Newark.
 
Washington, D.C.- Capital of U.S.A.

 

Although New York City and Philadelphia each served briefly as the capital of the United States, in 1790, Congress chose the District of Columbia as the permanent seat of government. George Washington helped select the site for the city. Situated on the Potomac River, Washington, D.C., was originally carved out of land transferred from Maryland and Virginia (Virginia's portion south of the river was returned to that state in 1846).

 

French-born American engineer, architect, and urban designer Pierre-Charles L'Enfant designed the city's basic plan, which features wide avenues radiating from the Capitol building through a grid of streets with numerous circles and parks. Congress first met in Washington in 1800, although construction of the first phase of the Capitol was not completed until 1826. Today, millions come to Washington, D.C. each year to see the Capitol, the White House, the Library of Congress, and the city's many museums and monuments. The flower is the American beauty rose.